Redesigning skin care for Millenials

By Antoinette Alexander

This ain’t your mother’s Olay. That’s essentially the message that the long-standing skin care brand is sending to women in their 20s with its new Fresh Effects collection that hit shelves in January with a new, innovative approach to in-store shelving. To learn more about this unprecedented launch for Olay, Drug Store News talked with Janine Miletic, associate marketing director for Olay Global.

DSN: What is the importance of the Olay Fresh Effects launch?

Janine Miletic: As we were doing a lot of analysis and understanding and looking at trends, overall, we thought that it was really important for us to be able to launch a new line for skin care going after younger consumers. There seemed like there was a big gap in opportunity to really speak to Millennials in their own voice with products designed for them. These are women who are out of their acne years; and they are not teenagers anymore, but they are not ready for wrinkle cream. … As we started to do some of that research, we also felt like the part of that that was really going to be critical to make sure that she understood the lineup and she also understood what was right for her was we wanted to make sure that the packaging [and] naming of the products really spoke to her … and had the tone of voice she actually speaks in, in addition to having it shelved in the store where she is currently shopping.

DSN: How is Olay helping consumers navigate this new collection, which is generally being shelved in the complexion vs. skin care section at retail?

Miletic: We wanted to make sure we were giving our retailers some tools and assets they could use to help her navigate when she gets to the shelf, so we have provided some different shelf-talker vehicles, as well as in-store tools like shelf fixtures to help make sure she can find the line if she hears about it on TV, online or from friends. When she goes into the store, there’s a lot of signage opportunity to direct her right to the right place so it is easy to find.

DSN: Why are Millennials such an attractive target market for Olay, and what is the spending power of this group?

Miletic: We have pulled some research that shows that because of the significant [number] of women in the 18- to 34-year-old age range, their expected spending force is about $65 billion on consumer packaged goods. … We don’t have exact figures on what they are spending on beauty, but we know that they are indexing much higher on beauty products in general, going across cosmetics, skin, perfume, etc.

DSN: Tell me about the specific formulas of the new 6-SKU Fresh Effects line.

Miletic: We wanted to start to get younger consumers into a regimen that makes sense for her. Cleansing is generally where she is starting from today, so we wanted to make sure that we were offering really solid, good cleansers for different skin types. We went with a formula that was really about exfoliating, in addition to having one that helps minimize shine. … We also introduced a brand-new device called the Va-Va-Vivid cleansing system device that is really designed to amplify significantly how clean her skin is going to be. … We also wanted to add a cleansing wipe, which is perfect for her lifestyle. … We wanted to also have two different [moisturizers] — one that is a great, light-feeling lotion, which has a great hydrating feel and is not heavy … in addition to a couple of BB creams.